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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: patient · bat · pitch · drill · mug · wind · march · staff

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. drill — a practice
  3. staff — employees
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. pitch — completely
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. mug — a cup
  8. staff — a stick
  9. march — music
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. march — the month
  14. drill — army training
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. mug — a face
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. wind — moving air
  20. mug — to rob
  21. drill — the tool
  22. march — the month
  23. bat — the animal
  24. wind — moving air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com